Best of Local

The folks at Local.com have taken an age-old tactic used by newspapers and created a "Best of" promotion.

Given that Yelp.com (a Local.com partner) is big enough that folks are beginning to look at it with a little more skepticism, the timing is good and I like this recent promotion even though the prizes for the business are a little chintzy (publicity, enhanced SEO listing). Seems the company could have arranged a co-promotion with Staples for $100 gift certificate. Anyway...I stray. This is an example of a promotion that works:

Local.com Corporation (NASDAQ: LOCM), a leading local search site and network, announced the launch of the company’s “Best of Local” awards program.

The annual “Best of Local” program will feature the best businesses as rated by consumers in 15 cities and 20 categories across the U.S. Businesses will be ranked based on the quantity and quality of the reviews that have been submitted about their business by visitors to Local.com. “Best of Local” winners will be selected and announced on December 1, 2008.

For more information about the “Best of Local” program please visit: www.local.com/bestoflocal.

To help kick-start this new program, the company also launched a “Best of Local” weekly drawing for a $500 American Express® gift card. Visitors who write a valid review on a local business at Local.com will be automatically entered to win. To register and enter to win please visit: www.local.com/bestoflocaldrawing.

Small Biz Owners Always Working

Small biz owners are ALWAYS working. Yep. We knew that.

Thanks to Fox Business for alerting me to a new survey from Staples about small businesses - these stats will have folks who own local businesses nodding their heads:

"Small Business Managers Reveal Startling Work Hours and Habits

"Almost half of U.S. small business managers work during time meant for family and admit to making business calls and checking e-mail while driving, according to a national survey ...[exploring] the balance between work and personal time for 300 leaders of companies with fewer than 20 employees, a group representing nearly 90 percent of all U.S. businesses..."

Here are some of the other tidbits you'll pick up if you click through to the press release:

• nearly one in five managers admit to reading work-related e-mail and documents while in the bathroom and nearly half work while driving
• nearly two-thirds (62 percent) work well beyond a 40-hour week, and one in five work a double week, logging an extra 40 or more on-the-job hours.
• one in five work while eating dinner at least 4–5 times per week
• more than a third could not readily remember their last vacation.